After you’ve cleared the Balbala fight in Act Two of Path of Exile 2, you’ll have earned the right to take on the Trial of the Sehkema to prove yourself worthy of being given the power to Ascend to a class-specific secondary power with your chosen Ascendancy.
The Druid class that was added with The Last of the Druids content update for PoE 2 also got two unique options for Ascendancy, either as a Shaman or as an Oracle, and the difference in made in how much hands-on control you want to have over your character and their combat specs.
Shaman Overview
|
1 |
Sacred Flow +40 to Spirit for each of your empty Charm slots |
– |
|---|---|---|
|
2 |
Wisdom of the Maji Gain the benefits of Bonded modifiers on Runes and Idols |
– |
|
3 |
Druidic Champion Every 2 Rage also grants 1% more Spell damage. |
Furious Wellspring No inherent loss of Rage Regenerate 6% of your maximum Rage per second Increases and Reductions to Mana Generation Rate also apply to Rage Regeneration Rate Skills have +5 to Rage cost +7 to Maximum Rage |
|
4 |
Reactive Growth 10% less Elemental Damage taken Adapt to the highest Elemental Damage Type of each hit you take 10% less Damage taken of each Elemental Damage Type per matching Adaptation |
Avatar of Evolution 5% of Physical Damage taken as Cold Damage 5% of Physical Damage taken as Fire Damage 5% of Physical Damage taken as Lightning Damage Adaptations have a duration of 5 seconds Double Adaptation effect |
|
5 |
Turning of the Seasons Enemies in your Presence have Exposure Gain 10% of Damage as extra Damage of a random Element |
Bringer of the Apocalypse Grants Skill: Apocalypse (Trigger one powerful Elemental Skill at max Glory to become “the walking apocalypse.”) |
No matter which of the Shaman’s Ascendancy perks you choose to begin unlocking first, this is a good choice for players who want an overall buff to elemental damage output for their Druid builds, no matter which element they’re relying on in their combat when they find themselves most often using elemental magic offensively.
Path Of Exile 2: How To Reset Instances
Do you want to fight against the same boss in Path of Exile 2 over and over again? Learn how to do this here.
The abilities you’ll unlock in the Shaman passive tree in Path of Exile 2 are primarily focused on damage output and mitigation, making you more adept at commanding the elements on the battlefield and less likely to endure fatal damage at the same time.
You’ll be taking less damage as you activate the nodes that offer resistance to Elemental Damage and that make your Flasks more efficient, while dealing more damage as you unlock nodes to help with your Rage output and Elemental Damage. There’s also a node to help acquire better boosts from Runes you slot into the gear you give your Druid, no matter the form they take most often, that are accessible only to a Shaman Druid in PoE 2.
There’s no right answer on which of the abilities we’ve listed above is the best to unlock first, since you’ll have the best luck unlocking things that align with your individual play style as you accumulate points from repeat trials. Your abilities will almost all be passive, except for the final node on the Elemental Damage branch of the Shaman’s passive tree, Apocalypse.
Apocalypse is one of the most powerful moves in PoE 2 that makes you do colossal damage to whatever kinds of creatures cross your path. Whether it’s fire, ice, or electricity, this is a must-have AoE spell for the end-game stages. You may just want to be sure you’ve got good Mana Flasks, and the upgrades that make your Flasks more effective to help mitigate the steep requirement for mana to use it.
If you’ve found your Druid relying mostly on elemental damage output for your primary form of combat, and you’re looking for the more straightforward of the two Ascendancies, the Shaman is likely the choice for you.
Those who find themselves playing a lot with the bear form of the Druid in PoE 2 might want to consider opting into becoming a Shaman when given the chance to compound how much Fire damage they’re doing, while the werewolf Druid will also benefit from the slew of Elemental Attack boosts in the Shaman Ascendancy to help give their powerful mix of Ice-based moves some extra (frost)bite.
Oracle Overview
|
1 |
The Lesser Harm Enemy Critical Hit Chance against you is Unlucky Damage of Enemies Hitting you is Unlucky |
Forced Outcome Inevitable Critical Hits |
|---|---|---|
|
2 |
Unnamed Heartwood +1 to maximum number of summoned Totems Totems die 6 seconds after their Life is reduced to 0 |
– |
|
3 |
Converging Paths Grants Skill: Moment of Vulnerability |
– |
|
4 |
Harmony Within Hit damage is taken from Mana before Life if your current Mana is higher than your current Life 15% less maximum Life 15% less maximum Mana |
– |
|
5 |
Fateful Vision Grants Skill: Align Fate |
|
|
6 |
The Unseen Path Walk the Paths Not Taken |
Entwined Realities Non-Keystone Passive Skills in Medium Radius of your allocated Keystone Passive Skills can be allocated without being connected to your tree. |
Meanwhile, if you’re more adept at manually managing spells added to your quick bind list and you’re interested in an extra node on the passive tree that’s exclusive to your Ascendancy, then you’d be better of choosing to spec into the Oracle.
Oracle Druids unlock a bevy of additional perks and pleasures, including but not limited to two new spells:
- Moment of Vulnerability is a great spell to cast when your enemies are open to attack and are primed for Stun, Electrocution, or Freeze, which makes it a great one no matter which element you rely on most.
-
Align Fate summons visages of your character to help cast spells, and you’ll deal a great amount of extra damage when you manually cast the same spell as they are.
- The spells they’ll use cannot be Channeling or Buff Spells.
Perhaps the biggest perk for the Oracle Druid in PoE 2, though, is the unlocked access to the Paths Not Taken secret passive tree node, which you’ll only be able to spec into when you’ve got the Oracle Ascendancy selected.
This litters a variety of additional Damage-Dealing nodes to unlock here, which will help compound the bulk of your offensive output (particularly Chaos-based spells and physical moves). They’re dotted on branches all around the passive tree, including in the animal form-specific sections toward the end.
Overall, the Oracle Ascendancy for the Druids class tends to be better for the type of player who finds themselves more interested in small changes that require more management. The Wyvern Druid build will likely get the best mileage from the Oracle Ascendancy, though it’s not a bad pick for any of the three bestial forms. There are more involved gameplay mechanics here, and you’ll need to do more spell slot balancing because of it, but it’s a great choice for anyone confident enough to forego the Shaman’s outright Elemental Damage boosts.
Path Of Exile 2: The Last Of The Druids – Best League Start Builds
If you’re looking to start out on the right foot in Path of Exile 2, here are some good starting builds.
